


A Ranger Revealed

by BennyChaos



Series: Authentic Rangers [1]
Category: Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Gen, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-05-26 05:13:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6225346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BennyChaos/pseuds/BennyChaos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new Ranger arrives in Amber Beach. How will this new hero fit into the team? Look out for surprises, truths, drama, and people just living their authentic lives!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mysterious Figure! Silver Bullet Races into Battle!

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after A Date with Danger and before Roar of the Red Ranger.

There was something different about today. Shelby knew it as soon as she woke up. Something in the air told her that today would be special, and the feeling nagged at her the entire time it took to get ready for a day at the Amber Beach Dinosaur Museum. She wondered about this as she walked to the museum and found herself lost in thought when a hand waved in front of her face.  
  
“Hello, Earth to Shelby,” Tyler’s beaming smile came into focus and Shelby could feel her face warm.  
  
“Hi Tyler.”  
  
“Thinking deep thoughts?”  
  
“It’s nothing,” a rush of shyness washed over Shelby as she made eye contact and then looked away. She could face down monsters, rampaging dinozords, even her own father’s crushing love, but put her in front of her crush…  
  
“Are you sure? If something’s up you know you can tell me.”  
  
“No. Nothing’s wrong. I just have this weird feeling about today,” she opened the front door to the museum and the two walked in together, “I don’t know what it is, just a feeling I guess.”  
  
“Maybe it’s blossoming psychic powers?” the Red Ranger asked with another grin.  
  
Shelby laughed and shook her head at how silly Tyler could be. So focused in battle, but such a kid at heart. She was about to reply when Riley came up to the two of them with a serious look on his face.  
  
“Miss Morgan wants to see us.”  
  
The Pink and Red Ranger shot a look at each other as they followed quickly behind Riley. However, instead of taking them down to the secret base underneath the building the Green Ranger led them to the Dino Bite Cafe. Even stranger the entire wait staff of the café was present. Shelby frowned. This must not be Ranger business.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“Thank you all for coming,” Kendall said to the gathered staff. A tall man Shelby didn’t know stood beside her, “This is Kapena Mahelona. The Board of Directors for the museum has hired him as a consultant for the café.”  
  
The look on Kendall’s face seemed neutral, but Shelby had aggravated the older woman enough times to know when she was bottling up her annoyance. She glanced at Tyler and was embarrassed enough to see him looking at her. He raised an eyebrow and the silent message passed between the two of them. How was this going to affect their Ranger activities?  
  
“This shouldn’t be seen as a mark against the past performance of the Dino Bite Café,” Mr. Mahelona began, “The Board is just interested in fixing a few issues that have arisen a few times.”  
  
“Like kitchen fires?” Riley quietly whispered somewhere behind Chase’s back. The taller boy casually shifted his weight and kicked back at the Green Ranger.  
  
Just then Kendall’s phone went off. She looked at the screen and then quickly made eye contact with the Rangers. Clearly alien bio-signs had been detected.  
  
“I’m so sorry Mr. Mahelona, but something has come up, and I’ll need Dig Team B to help me with….. something,” she immediately started to walk away as the Rangers filed out after her.  
  
“But what about-?”  
  
“We’ll have to continue this conversation later.”  
  
Kapena stared at the quickly retreating group and sighed, “This is going to be worse than that pizza place.”  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Six set of tennis shoes pounded against the pavement as the teenagers ran passed screaming civilians. Miss Morgan had located the attack by the harbor and sent them out immediately.  
  
“Do you think the consultant was the weird vibe you got this morning?” Tyler asked Shelby as they hurried along.  
  
“I don’t know,” the young woman replied, “Let’s hope it was that easy and not something worse.”  
  
Tyler nodded and pulled the group to a halt in front of a group of Vivixs and the monster of the week. This one was some sort of fisher themed demon with a trident.  
  
“Ah, Rangers, I wondered when you would arrive. It’s time for you to sleep with the fishies!” the great beast of a monster bellowed as he leveled his two pronged polearm at them.  
  
“I don’t think so,” Tyler declared confidently, “It’s Morphin’ time you guys! Dino Charger”  
  
“Ready” the others called out in response.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ever the proper warrior, Sir Ivan was already beginning to analyze the battle to discover where they had gone wrong. Even while he struggled to rise from his spot on the ground with his fellow rangers he replayed the last few minutes in his head. The Fisherman monster, called Big Katch, was faster than expected and kicked like… well… a ship, judging by the shape of his strange boots. He along with his battalion of Vivixs had pushed the rangers back. They now found themselves twitching on the ground and surrounded by the enemy.  
  
“Hahaha!” Big Katch boomed as he shook with glee, “You Rangers are the best haul I’ve ever brought in!”  
  
Suddenly, a high pitched voice called out, “Titanic….. BUSTER PUNCH!”  
  
A flash of bright light filled the area as a figure passed through the group of monsters before the rangers. Vivix flew through the air, and Big Katch was knocked back.  
  
Their rescuer stood firm between the heroes and the monsters. Light glinted off the silver helmet and golden spaulder as the figure straightened from a battle pose. She very gently brushed dust off of her skirt.  
  
“The… the Silver Ranger!” Riley cried out finally rising to his feet with the others.  
  
“It’s… a girl!” Chase said looking at the miniskirt the Ranger wore.  
  
“She very strong” Koda remarked.  
  
The Silver Ranger jerked her head to the side to look at the people behind her, “We will talk later. For now, “She raised her hand and suddenly made a fist, “It’s time to fight!”  
  
The Silver Ranger charged forward and the other Rangers spread out to engage the Vivix. Ivan moved to assist their new comrade against Big Katch.  
  
“I think you were right about today,” Tyler said to Shelby. She patted her on the shoulder and lifted his blast, “Come on, let’s go!”  
  
“Wait is this?” the Outlaw said as he stood back up and saw the new combatant charging at him, “Another Ranger? That just means a new opportunity to net me an energem!”  
  
“I don’t care what you’re after, brute,” the Silver Ranger replied readying her arms for a punch, “I didn’t travel across the country to watch you destroy the Power Rangers.”  
  
A yard away from her target she suddenly launched into the air and landed a kick against Big Katch’s chest. Sir Ivan moved in beside her and sliced a crossed the monster’s side. The Silver and Gold Ranger moved together landing blows and trading positions in perfect synch as Big Katch struggled to keep up. Eventually the villain fell to his knees as the other Rangers ran up, having defeated their opponents.  
  
“Have you had enough?” Tyler yelled.  
  
“Ooooh! You just wait, Rangers. I’ll be back and then you’ll get ship wrecked!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Rangers gathered around the Silver Ranger and bombarded her with questions.  
  
“Where did you come from?”  
  
“How long have you been a ranger?”  
  
“How did you find your energem?”  
  
“You teach me to punch like that?”  
  
“Whoa, whoa,” the girl raised her hands to fend off the inquiries, “I just had my first battle with monsters. A moment if you please.”  
  
A swirl of silver energy surrounded her and the ranger was suddenly replaced with a petit girl of South Asian descent.  
  
“Hello, Power Rangers, my name is Sara Manandhar, and I am the Silver Ranger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I created a business consultant character purely for the joke of how terrible Ranger run businesses actually are.
> 
> I haven't written a fanfic in years. I've been inspired by the character of Sara and hope you all will enjoy this adventure. It's been fun researching about the Silver Ranger's counterpart in the Sentai series and Debo monsters (like Debo Tairyon) I can borrow.


	2. Hello, Good day! First Days of a New Friendship?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the Silver Ranger introduces herself and misunderstandings occurr

Sometime later at the base, the Rangers and Keeper gathered around Sara to hear her story.

“So you’re a geologist?” Kendall asked.

“Studying to be one,” Sara responded, “We were on a field trip, and I wandered off from the rest of the group. I was…. lost in thought. That’s when I spotted something glinting in an exposed rock formation. It turned out to be this crystal. What did you call it?” 

“An energem,” Shelby said, studying the silver object Sara held up to the group, “It’s a powerful object that Keeper gave to dinosaurs when he arrived on this Earth. Now we’re trying to gather them all up and protect them from Heckle and his gang.”

“Yes,” Sara said, her face darkening, “I saw your fights on the news. I had no idea the energem was connected to you all until it activated and turned me into the Silver Ranger.”

“How did you bound with your energem?” Riley asked from his spot at the table.

“E.. excuse me?” the young girl suddenly flushed as she looked at the Green Ranger.

“Well the energem bounds with someone displaying great courage and virtue. Ivan and I both fought Fury when we bounded. Chase saved a cat from traffic. Prince Philip rescued Chase’s little sister during a battle…”

“I…. I don’t know,” the newest ranger looked very flustered by the question, “I was just… well...”

The group silently watched her with uncertainty.

“Well I transformed before some bullies could hurt my friend Lilly! They were harassing her, and I came upon them and that’s when the energem glowed and this dinosaur head came out of nowhere and bit down and I was suddenly in this armor and fighting and spinning and…”

“Easy, Sara, calm down. You’re not on trial,” Kendall stepped forward and put a hand on the girl’s shoulder, “Clearly the energem chose you. That says a lot about your character. Riley was just curious.”

“I’m sorry if it upset you,” the Green Ranger said.

“No, no. I’m sorry. I think I must be tired. It’s been a long trip to find you all, and I must still be nervous from the fight.”

The group dispersed at that point. Most of the rangers heading off to various museum duties. Kendall began the process of creating chargers for Sara while the young girl rested in the base. A few hours later Shelby made her way back down to the base. The tone of voice that Kendall was using made her pause and listen.

“I won’t say anything, Sara,” the older said, “but eventually you’ll need to be honest with the group.”

“But what if..”

“This isn’t about their reactions. We’ll deal with that if it comes. You need to be honest for yourself. Give it time and you’ll see that they’re good people.”

Shelby silently creeped back a few feet and then loudly walked into the room. The other two women quickly turned their heads. The Pink Ranger smiled at them, hoping to convince them she hadn’t been eavesdropping.

“Sara, where are you staying?” she asked the other girl.

“Well… I…” Sara looked between the two of them, “I hadn’t really thought that far. I don’t think I thought this plan through very well. I just packed a few things in a bag and bused my way here.”

Kendall patted her shoulder again, “I’ll see if I can arrange something. Mr. Mahelona may have frozen my hiring at the café, but he doesn’t control the internship program for the museum. I’m fairly certain with your background I can set you up very quickly.”

“While you do that,” Shelby offered her hand to the Silver Ranger and pulled her to her feet, “We’re going to go shopping!”

The next few days went by peacefully. The Rangers were ready for the next attack by Big Katch, but enjoyed the reprieve to get to know their newest team mate. Chase was busy working on his skateboard while Sara was teaching Koda a few moves when Shelby arrived at the base.

“Like this, Sara?” Koda said jabbing forward a few times.

“Yes, Koda,” she responded smiling at him and struck a pose with her fists held up, “You’ll be a Musti-yuddha master in no time.”

“Musty-whata?” Chase said coming over to them.

“Musti-yudda. It’s a fighting style from South Asia. My father made me learn when I was little.”

“A very talented lady,” Chase beamed at her, “You’re the whole package, aren’t you? I better be careful Kaylee doesn’t see us together or she might get the wrong idea.”

“I… uhh…” all of the confidence previously in Sara’s posture went out and she stepped back.

“Chase!” Shelby scolded.

“What?” Chase turned to look at her as she stormed over, “It was just a joke. I’m a flirt, remember?”

“I’m sorry,” Sara apologized, “It’s my fault for..”

“No,” Shelby stood between the two, “It’s definitely Chase’s fault. Let’s go for a walk.”

The two made their way out of the base and walked along the street. Shelby gave them a few minutes of silence before finally broaching the topic that had been on her mind for a few days.

“I’m really glad you’re on our team now, Sara.”

“Thank you,” the older girl looked over at her and smiled softly.

“It’s so nice to have another girl on the team. There’s too many boys. Kendall is great and all, but we haven’t had the best relationship. It’s great to have someone else I can talk about stuff with.”

The other girl looked away but nodded silently.

“So I want to be honest with you. I was walking back down to the base the day you arrived and I overheard you talking to Kendall…”

Sara’s head snapped back to look at Shelby. A worried look overcame her expression, “What did you hear?”

“Nothing, really,” Shelby suddenly became less sure of herself, “Just that you had something you should tell the rest of us…”

“So you were spying,” Sara stopped walking and balled her hand into a fist, “There’s nothing I have to tell you all. You can butt out of my business.”

“I was just…”

“You were just being pushy. Like you were just now with Chase. I don’t need you to hold my hand or go on some Girl Power trip.”

Before she could respond, Shelby’s Dino Com went off. She pulled it out and saw Ivan’s face.

“Lady Shelby, the monster has returned. We need you and Lady Sara at once.”

“Okay, Ivan, we’ll be right there,” she put the com away and looked at the other girl, “We can finish this conversation later. Right now we’re needed.”

Sara nodded and reached for her dino charger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this story is getting away from me. The inspiration that spawned this story was going to happen pretty early on in the story, but now I seem to be taking my time with getting to it. I hope it's not too terribly boring.


	3. Something Fishy. Pink and Silver Battle Clash!

Big Katch had reappeared within the city. Tyler and the others were already morphed when he saw Shelby and Sara arrive on the scene. The two quickly transformed and began to battle the Vivix that had also returned. He immediately noticed something was wrong.

“Hey, watch out!” Shelby scolded as she ducked under one of Sara’s punches. The two knocked into each other, spun, and lashed out at nearby goons.

“Oh, whatever, I don’t have time for this.” Shelby was pushed back from an attack and leaned forward for a moment. Sara leap frogged over her to fly at a nearby Vivix, knocking the Pink Ranger fully off balance. Tyler raced up to her and steadied her.

“What’s going?”

“I don’t know,” Shelby stood still for a moment watching the Silver Ranger fight, “We got into an argument and…”

At that moment Ivan and Koda, locked in battle with Big Katch, barreled passed them. The monster was doing his best to stab the rangers with his polearm. 

“Perhaps this conversation could wait for a more opportune moment, yes?” Ivan asked as his blade caught the spear weapon and deflected it away. Before he could remark further Big Katch threw Koda against him and the two were knocked over. A net flew through the air and caught the two. The monster laughed.

“I got me some strange looking fish, but they make for excellent bait!”

Tyler let out a cry and charge. Shelby started to chase after him when more Vivix surrounded her. Tyler lost track of her as he battled the Outlaw. Realizing that fighting one-on-one was not ideal, Tyler started to think of a way to release his friends. The distraction was just what Big Katch needed and he landed a solid blow on the Red Ranger. Tyler flew through the air and crashed against the ground so hard he demorphed. He slowly raised a groggy head and saw Big Katch turned towards the pink shape in the distance. 

“Shelby, no!” Tyler screamed as the spear left Big Katch’s hand.

Time seemed to slow down for the Red ranger as he watched Shelby turn at the sound of him calling her name. The jerk in her head at the spear came too slowly and….

DING! Suddenly Sara stood between Big Katch and Shelby, Dino Saber in hand and the two-prong trident weapon clattering uselessly to the ground. 

“Sa-Sara…” Shelby said in surprise.

“I’m having a bad day,” the Silver Ranger pulled out her Dino Charge Morpher and pointed it at Big Katch. Tyler was surprised to see that it was a blue and red color, “I just fought with the one person who’s been nothing but nice to me, and I don’t need some oaf who smells like a barrel of spoiled fish making my life any more dreadful.”

“What did you call me? Vivix, get them!”

“…”

“Where did they go?” Big Katch looked around to realize he was alone.

“Sorry, mate” Chase said while stepping up and waving his gun casually. Riley stood by him and flipped his sword, “looks like you’re on your own now.”

“A pity for you,” Sara said and glanced at Shelby, “You’re always stronger with a team and friends.”

“Well said, Lady Sara,” Ivan and Koda stood up as Tyler pulled the net that had bound them off and tossed it to the side.

“We show you that strength now!” Koda flexed his fists and stood ready to fight.

“Thanks for the rescue,” Shelby said softly to Sara. She pulled out a charger and tossed it to the Silver Ranger, “Let’s kick this guy’s butt!”

“Right,” Sara inserted the battery with a TRICERA CHARGER, ENGAGE echoing forth. She lined up a shot.

“Oh…. No!” Big Katch yelled. He started to move away but a flash of green streaked by as Riley sliced at him. He spun and ran into a powerful kick from Koda and Ivan. Tyler and Chase’s shots placed him squarely in front of the girls.

“Dino Morpher…. BLAST!” 

The swirl of pink and silver energy issued forth and collided with Big Katch. He stumbled and turned in the spot.

“I’m a fish fry now,” he lamented and exploded as the rangers all stood around him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Much later at the base the rangers were cheerfully hanging out. Koda was showing off his new fighting moves to everyone. Everyone cheered as he ducked and dodged around the room. Sara and Shelby sat at the table and clapped along with everyone else.

“I’m sorry,” Sara said turning to her, “There are things going on and I will tell you eventually. It’s hard for me to trust people. I usually get defensive.”

“It’s okay. Whatever it is I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

“Thank you,” the girls smiled at each other, but at that moment Koda kicked over Miss Morgan’s computer. The two laughed as Koda blushed and scrambled to pick up the pieces while Kendall gritted her teeth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m trying really hard to write this in a format reminiscent of an actually episode. I really enjoyed picturing this battle sequence today, but dialogue is just the worst when you’re trying to find someone else’s voice. Feedback would be respected and appreciated. The story currently has a very action heavy focus, but will be moving away from that eventually.


	4. Blazing Heat! Pool Party Battle with a Surprise Finish!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rangers take a day off to enjoy some summer activities. Prince Philip is useful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little nervous. I hope you all are enjoying the story and Sara's secret is interesting to you. Let me know what you think in the comments!

The monster slipped passed the gate. The night’s shadows masked its movements as it made its way along the corridor and out into the open air. It looked around and chuckled to itself.

“This plan is brilliant, just like me!” it waved its arms and fired a blast, bright as the sun, at the swimming pool in front of it. The water glowed brightly for a moment and then returned to normal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was hot. Temperatures had climbed into record highs for four days in a row. The heat blazed everywhere and not even the depths of the underground base could shield the team. It had been decided, mostly by the enthusiasm tidal wave that is Tyler Navarro, that a trip to the pool was in order. 

Even Prince Philip had been convinced to go to a public pool. The young royal now found himself sitting next to the newest ranger. He looked over at her reading a book and raised an eyebrow at her clothing. While the top of a silver bathing suit could be occasionally seen underneath her bagging shirt she still wore jeans.

“That seems very unprincely,” Sara commented from behind her book.

“I’m sorry, what?” the young man looked back up at her.

“Oogling a woman so openly.”

“I… would never… I am happily bethro…” he flustered for a moment and caught himself when he saw the smirk on her face, “I just thought her choice of attire was unseasonable.”

“I think your bodyguards’ are more noteworthy than I, your highness.”

The two paused to look over at the two men standing as silent sentinels a few feet away. Both wore black suits and sunglasses. Their rigid posture stood out in the sea of happy pool goers.

“Yes, well, they take their job very seriously,” Prince Philip put down his own book let out an uncomfortable breath, “but it is hot. I’m getting sweaty just looking at them.”

“It’s not so bad,” Sara finally relented and put her book down as well, “I’ve spent several summers visiting my grandmother in southern India. Plus I don’t like swimwear very much. If I am to be honest I probably won’t get in the pool.”

“So why come at all?”

“Oh, I wanted to be friendly, and Tyler can be very persuasive. Plus…,” she lowered her sunglasses and glanced at the pool where the other were splashing around. Riley and Kendall had been teaching Ivan how to swim and the others were having a cannonball contest. , “… I don’t mind the view.”

“Is there a particular person that has caught your eye?” Philip smiled and looked over at Shelby, Tyler, and Chase laughing as Koda belly flopped into the pool.

Before Sara could respond a very peculiar thing happened. Nearly every single person at the pool sat down. Those floating in the water simply stopped moving and either stood or floated aimlessly. Only a handful of people around the edges, including Sara, Philip, and his bodyguards reacted to the sudden change. Sara jumped up and ran over to the other Rangers sitting beside of the pool.

“Tyler? Shelby?” He gently shook both of her friends.

“Hmm? Oh, hi Sara.” Tyler said slowly with a dreamy, far off look in his face.

“Are you feeling…. Okay?” the Silver Ranger looked around her. Everyone was still awake and looked happy enough. The just didn’t seem to be moving much. Ivan did kick a little to remain floating.

“I feel great.” Tyler said, and he turned to smile at Shelby, “Weather’s so nice.”

“Yeah,” Shelby agreed in the same slow lethargic manner, “Just wanna… soak in the sunlight.”

“Well maybe we should…”

“Sara, KODA!” Philip yelled suddenly. Sara looked around in confusion, not seeing the cavemen. Her blood went cold when she realized he was floating face down in the water. Philip charged at the pool but one of his men held him back as the other dived in. The bodyguard swam over and pulled Koda up. The blue ranger coughed and sucked in a large breath. Sara saw a slight golden shimmer over the man in the now very wet suit. He suddenly stopped moving, and he and Koda simply smiled at one another and stood in the water.

“Don’t go in the water,” Sara yelled. She backed away from the edge of the pool.

“What are we going to do?” Philip walked over to her and looked around, “Do you think drying them off will help?”

“We can always give it a try but this is clearly a monster related ailment, and I assume defeating the monster is the cure.” Still, Sara gently pulled at Shelby’s shoulder. The other girl slowly got to her feet and smiled at her friend, “Let’s go and find your towel…”

Philip grabbed Tyler and Chase, and the group began to move back towards their stuff. Just as Sara was wondering how they were going to wrangle anyone out of the pool, a group of Vivix appeared along with two other monsters. One was a green and orange doll-like thing and the other was an eye sore of hearts and bright colors.

“Well, it looks like the newest Ranger and the spare haven’t fallen into my trap,” the woman said with a finger on her chin, “looks like we’re going to have to fix that!”

“Poisandra!,” Prince Philip stepped in front of the group, “What have you done to our friend?”

“That was me!” another creature appeared. This one looked like a giant lobster with a snow cone for an arm was rolled around inside of a party supply store, “Hello everyone! I’m Summer Haze! Hahaha. One blast from my Sunlight Beam and you’re as lazy as a sleepy kitty! Hahahah”

The monster then fired a blast at the group and explosions went off all around them. Tyler, Shelby, and Chase only slightly raised their arms and stepped back, but still seemed unconcerned with the attack. Sara raced out from behind them and began to knock Vivix aside in order to get to the monster. If they could just defeat the creature it would reverse the affliction. She kicked one hard enough to knock it into the pool and felt a certain amount of satisfaction when she saw the golden shimmer and the Vivix standing calmly in the water.

“We must morph,” the Graphite ranger called out as he dodged and weaved, “there are too many of them.”

“All right,” Sara reached into her pocket for her charge when Summer Haze stepped in front of her.

“Surprise!” the creature swiped down with its clawed hand and slashed Sara’s front. She stumbled back and pressed a hand against her chest, but still raised the other up with the charge.

“Dino Charger… Ready!”

A shape crashed into Summer Haze, and suddenly Prince Philip, transformed in to the Graphite Ranger, was standing by her side.

“M’lady,” the man bowed slightly.

“Oh, a Charming Prince, how appropriate. Ooh,” Sara pressed a hand against her chest again, “that stings. But now is not the time.”

The two struck battle poses and charged against the group again. The tactic of knocking Vivix into the pool proved quite effectively and quickly Poisandra, Curio, and Summer Haze were standing along.

“Uh oh…” Curio whimpered and hide behind Poisandra.

“Those two are tougher than I thought!” the lady alien said.

“Right,” Sara clenched her fist, “Are you ready, good sir?”

“After you, good lady,” Philip replied.

“Titanic…” Sara began, energy swirling around her.

“Royal…” Philip echoed.

“BUSTER PUNCH!”

“DINO PUNCH!”

Dinosaur heads and flashing energy surged from the two rangers and collided with the villians. Poisandra was knocked with Curio and Summer Haze fell right down. A crack appeared on its shell and a shimmer golden haze spread out in all directions and immediately vanished. The other rangers and the pool guests all immediately began to move with purpose again. At the sight of the monsters most of the crowd surged away and out of the public pool. The other Rangers raced over and stood in front of the fallen monster.

“Philip, Sara, are you two okay?” Tyler asked.

“We’re fine, thank you,” Philip responded, “Glad to see you all back to normal.”

“Oh no,” Summer Haze moaned as it got to its feet, “Heckyl isn’t going to be happy. And it was going SO well!”

Before anyone could react the three villains raced a few feet away and vanished. 

“Well, I think we have an idea about the unusual temperatures now,” Kendall said and she put her glasses back on, “Let’s go to the base and see if we can figure out a way to stop this.”

Philip and Sara both demorphed. As soon as Sara transformed back she crumpled over. Shelby and Ivan immediately moved to help her. As they stepped forward something fell and hit the ground.

“Is that….” Riley began.

“…a boob?” Chase finished.

Sara made a pained sound and slowly stood up. The rip in her shirt cut all the way through her bathing suit.

“Whoa,” Chase said staring, “Sara’s a guy.”

“No,” the girl responded trying to cover her exposed chest and staring daggers at Chase, “I’m a transwoman.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! I’m glad I took an “episode” to present and establish Sara before jumping into her main story, but I’ve been jumping at the bit to get to the reveal and personal drama that follows. I am very aware that as a white gay cisman I can’t fully appreciate the perspective of a South Asian straight transwoman, but I really wanted to tell this story. There are plenty of fanfics about lesbian, gay, and even bisexual Rangers (and I will eventually bring that into this series) but I wanted transgender representation because that’s not something I’ve seen much in Power Rangers. And while it will probably never come up in this series, I think Koda is asexual in my headcanon for all of this.


	5. Stories and Understanding. Hotshot is hot headed!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rangers talk a little. And yell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day. This one is shorter, but it's been bubbling in my head for awhile now.

_This feels like the first day I was here,_ Sara thought to herself as she stood in the underground base. The others all stood or sat around her and seemed to stare into her skull, _What must they think of me?_

“So…” Chase said, arms folded and standing away from the others, “something you want to tell us?”

“I… lied… to you all about how I bonded with my energem,” Sara said slowly, “and left out some details.”

“Like the fact that you’re a bloke,” the Black Ranger supplied.

“CHA-ase!” Shelby spat as she tried to keep from yelling, “Let. Sara. Talk.”

The girl in front of them looked scared. A gentle nod from Miss Morgan prompted a deep breath, and she continued.

“I did find the energem on a field trip. It was before… well… it was before. The reason I was off on my own was because a group of students didn’t like me and that let me know it. I was ‘that weird kid’ and I had few friends. The day that I bonded with the energem,” and here she stopped for a moment and smiled for the first time as she finally met their eyes again, “was the first day I walked out my door as myself.”

She laughed quietly and tugged on the sleeve of the shirt Miss Morgan let her borrow. It was still hot in the base, but none of the rangers were concerned with it, “Actually, I remember wearing a silver skirt. As soon as I shut the door this.... glow… and warmth spread through me, and I felt as big and powerful as a Brachiosaurus. I haven’t used my dead name since.”

“Dead name?” Chase interrupted again, earning another glare from Shelby.

“So Sara was…. other person?” Koda asked scratching his head, “But now she herself?”

“Yes, Koda,” Miss Morgan said.

“No, not at all,” Sara said suddenly, “I’ve always been myself. It’s just that no one else understood and always made me be someone else.”

Koda frowned for a moment, but then smiled, “I like Sara. Glad she happy as herself.”

“Thank you, Koda,” Sara said, tears suddenly in her eyes but not spilling over, “That… that means a lot to me.”

“I don’t think he understands what’s going on,” Chase said harshly.

“Actually, I too have some confusion on this topic,” Ivan raised his hand slowly.

“Come on buddy, let’s go for a walk.” Tyler patted the Gold Ranger on the back and started to guide him out of the base. As he turned away he winked at Sara and smiled, “Come on Koda, why don’t you join us?”

There was an awkward silence as the three rangers shuffled out of the base. Riley remained sitting in his spot with his head slightly down, not looking at anyone. Chase still stood rigidly in his spot, arms crossed and frown on his face. Shelby switched between trying to smile at Sara and shoot ugly looks at the Kiwi. Both Philip and Keeper stood passively to the side and watched until Kendall finally broke the silence.

“Well, I’m glad you finally told the others. It’s important they understand you for you.”

“Wait, you knew?” Chase asked, “And you didn’t bother to tell us?”

“Chase, it’s not my place to say anything,” Miss Morgan responded.

“He lied to us!” the Black Ranger shouted.

The next few seconds were a cacophony of yells. Shelby began to approach Chase, but Philip stepped in front of her and began to hold her back while trying to talk reason. Kendall was saying something to Chase but couldn’t be heard over Shelby and Chase’s shouts. Sara stepped back and felt a tear finally roll down her cheek.

“RANGERS!” Keeper finally said over the noise. Immediately everyone stopped and looked at him, “Be calm. This is not a time for conflict. Sara had her reasons for keeping her life private. Now we must focus on the danger at hand.”

“I don’t think we can work with someone who goes around lying to people about who they are,” Chase said, “It’s not right.”

Riley stood up suddenly. His face was flush and eyes slightly wild. Without a word he bolted from the room.

“Riley?” Shelby called after him but the Green Ranger was gone.

“Probably didn’t want to hear you all lecturing me anymore,” Chase said, “I bet he agrees with me and isn’t as straightforward as I am.”

“Shut up Chase,” Shelby said without looking at him.

“Whatever. I’m out,” Chase picked up his skateboard and started to walk away. Kendall moved to stand beside Shelby and watched his departure.

“Let him go. We can talk about this later with cooler heads.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I can feel some seething hate from the Chase fanbase for making him the jerk. I had to have someone be outright hostile, and honestly he already has a history of being stupid and jerky to people. I had considered making Koda be more wary than confused, but I think it’s cute that he ultimately just doesn’t care. 
> 
> Also, can I get some points back for making Tyler be adorable transally as he explains LGBTQA issues to the time displaced rangers?


	6. Conversations and Friendship.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara settles things with several rangers and someone's secret is discussed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a lot really happens in this chapter, but it's been one of my favorite to write so far.

Prince Philip sat quietly in the Dino Bite Café. It had been about two hours since the unpleasantness in the base, and he wisely decided Sara needed somewhere that felt less oppressive. Unfortunately the girl couldn’t be convinced to move much farther away than the museum. So after a halfhearted stroll through the exhibits, the two found themselves sitting in a booth in silence. Some new gentleman Philip did not know seemed very agitated that they were taking up an entire table without ordering anything so the prince finally relented and ordered them tea.

“You know,” the Graphite Ranger said looking thoughtfully off in the distance. His companion finally looked up from her cup, “Zandar has had a rather robust civil rights code for several years now. My friend Merry helped to push it through. They’re actually one of the youngest members of Parliament and the first transgender representative.”

“That’s nice,” the eyes lowered again back to the untouched cup.

“I’ve known them for years. I knew them when they wore a boy’s school uniform top and cringed every time someone said ‘Mark.’ It’s hard to believe so much passion and determination could be contained in one person. One time…”

“Why are you telling me this,” Sara said finally meeting his eyes.

“Because I want… no… I need you to understand…,” he reached across the table and grabbed her hand, squeezing slightly, “… that you are not alone in this world. I think you’ve felt alone for a very long time now, and I think of how lucky Merry has been with their life. Yes, there were school yard fights and protests and ugly smear campaigns but they were always protected from the worst this world has to offer. It breaks my heart to think others are not so fortunate.”

The hand Philip was holding very slightly squeezed back.

“My Prince!” Ivan’s voice broke the moment and the two pulled away and turned to look at the group entering, “ _Lady_ Sara.”

Tyler smiled and waved as he and Koda walked up to the table, “Hi guys, how’s it going?”

“Is ‘guys’ okay?” Koda asked softly to Tyler, looking very concerned.

“We’ve had a very busy conversation,” Tyler still had a smile on his lips but his eyebrows knitted for a moment in remembrance.

“I see,” Prince Philip said with a look of amusement on his face, “Koda looks quite mystified and, Sir Ivan, you seem very distracted.”

Ivan had been staring at the wall during the exchange and snapped back into focus.

“What? No I’m not… I mean I… well… Yes, the conversation was quite illuminating,” he then turned to Sara and dropped to one knee, earning several stares from customers around them, “Lady Sara, I pledge to you my loyalty as a Knight of Zandar. You are a brave and valiant soul, and I am honored to fight alongside you.”

Koda then dropped to one knee as well and attempted to mimic Ivan’s posture, “Koda, too, like Sara. She punch fierce and mighty like cave bear.”

Sara stared at the two of them for a moment, and then broke into uncontrollable laughter. Her giggle fit lasted for several seconds, and she finally stopped, arms on the table and head in her hands.

“My life is SO weird.”

“So weird,” Tyler echoed as he and the other two joined them at the table, “A knight and caveman just declared their loyalty to you in a dino themed café while you’re having tea with a prince.”

“It does take some getting used to,” Philip agreed.

She smiled at them all, “Thank you. I have never really had very many friends. As odd as you all may seem to others, I do cherish your companionship.”

With that the tension that Sara had been holding released. The conversation steered clear of discussing any serious matters. Their chat was interrupted by Kendall walking up to them with a concerned look on her face.

“Kendall… worried?” Koda asked when she reached the table.

“What’s up, Miss Morgan?” Tyler inquired.

“I was hoping you all could go look for Riley. While Chase,” her cheeks blushed slightly as she said the Black Rangers name but she powered on, “did respond I haven’t been able to get ahold of Riley. His Dino Com is turned off, and I his phone goes straight to voice.”

“Maybe we should just give him space?” Sara asked with uncertainty.

Kendall shook her head, “I was fine for a few hours, but this isn’t like Riley.”

“She’s right,” Tyler said, rising from the table, “We should go look for him.”

“Very well! Let us set forth in search of our missing comrade!” Ivan began to charge boldly out of the café while the others watched. A moment later he poked his head back in, “Where do you think we should start looking?

__________________________________________________

Sara was the one who found Riley. While she and Ivan were searching the woods by the edge of town she managed to stumble across the young man sitting on a rock outcrop in a clearing. Quietly, she crept up to him and sat down. The bare shift of his head told her that he had noticed her arrival but the two sat in silence for a time.

“I don’t…” the young man began and caught his words before trying again, “I am fine with who you are.”

“That’s good. I’m fine with who I am, too.”

This caused the Green Ranger to finally turn and look at the small smile on Sara’s face. He weakly returned the smile.

“So what is this about then? Everyone seems very worried with this behavior from you. I don’t know you well enough to understand,” she slide a little bit closer and sat more comfortably on the stone and moss. The response was slow to come, but she was happy to enjoy the quiet. The heat had abated only a bit but a breeze through the woods helped to cool them in the late afternoon.

“It’s about… Chase.”

“Oh.”

“I... didn’t think he’d be like that and the things he said about lying and keeping secrets. It wasn’t pretty,” Riley’s face flushed as he spoke.

Sara’s eyes widen suddenly, “Do you like him, Riley?”

He jerked as though he had been hit and stared at her with surprise, “What? No! I… I mean,” He lowered his gaze, “Maybe? We’re friends, probably best friends now, but I’ve never said anything to anyone. So when he started to get mad about you not talking about something private after only knowing us a few days, and I’ve been hiding this for months now…”

“I’m probably not the best person to talk to you about Chase,” Sara nudged a small pebble off the edge of the overhang they sat on and watched it tumble down, “I think he’s an ass.”

“He… can be.”

“But I also think… no, I also know that you have to be true to yourself,” she turned and stared him down, “We cannot let the world dictate how we feel about ourselves. Hiding is safe, but it’s also misery. You have really cool friends, and I’m sure they’ll be happy to get to know the whole Riley instead of the partial Riley they’ve seen so far. Plus, your reveal is far less interesting than mine.”

Riley gawked at her as she casually uttered this last sentence while looking off into the distance, “Less… interesting?”

“I do mean, it’s not a competition.”

“Are you trying to make me feel better?” he asked her in confusion.

She glanced sideways at him, “Is it working? I am actually very terrible at this sort of thing.”

“Maybe?”

“You seem to be filled with quite a bit of ‘maybe’ Mr. Griffin,” Sara finally moved to rise, “but do you feel well enough to return to civilization? I think Koda can give you survival tips if you choose to remain out here.”

Riley let out a breath of air and slowly got to his feet as well, “I guess so. I don’t know what I’m going to tell the others.”

“Sir Riley! Ah, you’ve found him Lady Sara!” Ivan waved at them from the edge of the woods, “I am most pleased you are unharmed.”

“Tell them the truth. Lie through omission. No one can tell you what’s best for you, and I’ll not say anything about it,” Sara told him as they walked down to meet with the Gold Ranger who was already contacting the others on his Dino Com.

“…-aze was spotted by the beach,” they heard Kendall say to Ivan over the device.

“What was that?” Riley asked in alarm.

“Miss Morgan has located the monster from the pool. We must make haste!”

“Ranger life. So much drama, and then a monster attacks,” Sara said wistfully.


	7. Beach Dream Busted!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chiley lovers are gonna hate me with all the Kaylee in this part.

“I’m so glad you wanted to go to the beach,” Kaylee said as she relaxed on the blanket she was sharing with her boyfriend, “It’s been so hot lately. I don’t even care that it’s so crowded.”

“Yeah,” Chase said absently. The two had set up their blanket in one of the few open spots. The beach was packed with tourists and locals alike trying to enjoy the cool water and coastal breeze after the blistering effects of Summer Haze’s powers. Chase wondered for a moment how they were going to fix this before Amber Beach melted.

“Are you okay, honey?”

“Hmm?” Chase turned to look at her. She sat up slightly and turned to look at him, “Just… something weird came up tonight.”

“Wanna talk about it?” she asked rising totally up to a sitting position.

“You know Sara, the new girl at the museum? Turns out she’s actually a bloke.”

“You mean like a crossdresser?” she asked.

“Yeah, but he called it something different.”

“Oh, is she trans?” Kaylee took her sunglasses off and scrunched up her face, “Is ‘trans’ wrong to say? I don’t remember.”

“Why are you asking me?” Chase huffed and settled farther into his hunched position, “I don’t know anything about that stuff!”

“It’s not that big of deal, Chase,” she picked up her sunscreen bottle and started to reapply to her arms and face, “I liked Sara. She was quiet, but nice.”

“I don’t like people lying to me like that, and it’s weird,” He grumbled.

“You think peanut butter is weird, but you can’t get enough of that marmite stuff,” she made a face as she said the last part, “So gross.”

Chase cracked a grinned, “Hey! That’s good. Don’t call it gross just because you grew up with inferior grub.”

“Peanut butter is not inferior.”

“Says you,” he smiled at her and kicked a bit of sand at her feet.

“Hey!” Kaylee cried out, but before she could retaliate Chase’s Dino Com went off. He waved an apology to her and walked down the beach to get a little privacy.

“Yes, Kendall?” Chase asked with a bit of coldness to his voice.

“I was just checking in, Chase,” the older woman, “want to make sure you were ok.”

“I am,” Chase blushed in embarrassment, “thank you, Miss Morgan.”

“Is Riley with you?”

“No,” he frowned down at her image, “I’m at the beach with Kaylee. I saw him take off on his scooter, but I don’t know where he went.”

“Alright then,” the expression on Kendall’s face says anything but ‘alright’ though Chase doesn’t say anything, “Chase, I… It’s important for the Rangers to work together as a team, but I understand that you may be confused and uncomfortable with Sara.”

“I…” Chase begins but is quickly cut off by his boss.

“However, I don’t think you’ve taken the time to think about how uncomfortable and scarred Sara has been over all of this. Your reaction is the exact reason she didn’t say anything before now. She’s spent most of her life trying to unravel who she is from who people assume she is and avoiding the blowback from being true to herself. I don’t want to lecture, but I want you to really think about things and we’ll talk later.”

“Ok, Kendal- Miss Morgan. I hear what you’re saying,” Chase responds somberly. He turned off the Dino Com and walked back to Kaylee. She thankfully doesn’t ask him about the call and instead the two enjoy some beach time together. They splashed in the water, found another couple for a game of beach volleyball, and eventually returned to their blanket for more relaxing. That’s when the explosion went off.

The blast occurred somewhere in the water a few hundred yards down the beach. A fine mist floated up the coast. Many of the beach goers had jumped up at the sound of the explosion but paused to look at the spray slowly falling. It was nearly too late when Chase finally realized the golden shimmery of the water was not a reflection of sunlight.

“Get down!” Chase yelled at Kaylee and tried to pull her over with him. She yanked her arm away in confusion and stood up, stepping right into the sea spray. Chase cursed to himself as he covered himself in their blanket and waited for the magical water to finally settle. After a few seconds he peaked out and saw Kaylee standing in the exact same spot with a faraway look in her eyes, “Kaylee?”

“Yes?” She asked without looking at him. A small, empty smile stayed on her otherwise blank face.

“Are you okay?” Chase got to his feet and looked around. A good part of the beach was covered in idle humans just standing or sitting. People from farther up the beach were slowly approaching to see what had happened.

“I feel great,” the girl suddenly smiled brightly, “It’s so nice outside. Nice and warm.”

“Yeah… it sure is,” the Black Ranger reached for his Dino Com just as he spotted the crowd of Vivix heading his way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Chase! Hey Chase!” Tyler raced up to his friend and crouched down beside of him next to a car in the parking lot by the beach.

“Shh!! Geez mate, a little subtly,” Chase berated him, “I was trying to spy on Poisandra and the goon squad.”

The other Rangers caught up to the two of them and Chase finally stood up. He swallowed as he looked at them all, but plunged ahead with business.

“They attacked a few minutes ago. That walking seafood buffet used sea spray to knock out most of the beach. That’s when Poisandra and a lot of Vivix showed up. I think they’re trying to wrangle everyone up, but I can’t tell why. They’ve got Kaylee!”

“I’m surprised you aren’t already attacking them,” Shelby said, still with a bit of anger in her voice for her friend.

“I knew…. I knew I couldn’t do this without my team,” Chase said with apologize and defeat in his voice. Kendall gave him a knowing nod and most of the team seemed to be happy with his response. Sara, however, didn’t even look at him as she stepped forward to get a better view.

“So what is our plan? They do seem to be rounding up everyone for something,” she turned to look at the others while continuing to ignore Chase.

“Riley, Chase, Shelby and I will go distract them,” Tyler said as he took charge, “Kendall, Philip, Ivan, Sara, and Koda, you all go help those people when we draw them away.”

“Good a plan as any,” Kendall said and began to move out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearly done, this last part is taking longer to write than expected so I went ahead and put this section out.


	8. Showdown

“It could have been a better plan,” Kendall remarked as she punched a Vivix in the face.

“Perhaps we were a tad hasty in accepting Sir Tyler’s plan,” Ivan blocked an incoming shot with his sword and swung at a nearby Vivix. The group had managed to at least gather up the stunned humans, but were now surrounded by a platoon of Poisandra’s henchmen. The others had managed to lure most of the enemies away, but had underestimated the number of Vivix involved. 

“Why are there so many of these ugly things?” Sara asked as she lashed out with a kick before slicing with her Dino Saber. Laser beams filled her vision and she barely managed to pull her foot away as a shot landed on the Vivix she had just struck, “Hey!”

Chase appeared beside her with his Dino Charge Morpher and pantomimed blowing on the end of it, “You’re lucky I’m such a Hotshot.”

“More like Hothead!” she threw back at him as the returning Rangers charged into the fight with their allies.

“Listen, _**Lady**_ ….” the Black Ranger dropped his pose and loomed over the smaller girl. Unbeknownst to either one Summer Haze, whose vanishing act had prompted the four Rangers to race back to their friends, was scuttling up the beach towards them.

“Don’t even start with me, Kiwi,” Sara raised her hand between the two of them and started to turn away. Summer Haze jumped up behind the two.

“Rawr!” the crab monster yelled.

“Look, I’m trying! This isn’t easy for me,” Chase yanked on Sara’s arm, ignoring the menace behind the two of them.

“Well I don’t have time or patience for you to catch up,” the Silver Ranger yanked her arm away and elbowed Summer Haze in the process. The monster fellow over at the unexpected action and flailed on the ground, “I don’t need your acceptance, but you can get out of my way.”

“HEY! PAY ATTENTION TO ME!”

“What?” the two asked simultaneously as they realized their enemy was getting to its feet beside of them.

“So wrapped up in your own little drama you don’t even notice other people’s feelings! Well now you’re not going to feel much of anything!” the now familiar golden glow erupted from Summer Haze and shot at the two nearby rangers. Instinct kicked in and Sara pushed Chase down and out of the way of the attack.

“ooph!” Chase hit the sand hard. He looked up and saw Sara standing over him. She slowly lowered her arms and sunk to her knees, demorphing, “Sara?!”

“nn,” she replied unemotionally.

“ahhahahaha!” the creature waved its cone arm around threateningly, “One ranger down! Let’s see if we can do better!”

“Look out!” Chase yelled as Summer Haze fired into the crowd of Vivix, Rangers, and civilians. Shelby and Kendall both leaped out of the way of a blast. Koda threw a Vivix up to shield himself, but Prince Philip knocked himself into a minion and took the full force of the blast and also demorphed.

“Guys!” Tyler yelled, “We’ve got to take him down!”

“The only thing going down is you Rangers!” Poisandra yelled as she reappeared on a nearby sand dune. She blew a kiss and the beach was crowded with exploding hearts.

“This isn’t good!” Chase yelled as he looked between the Kaylee, Sara, and the crowd of people caught in the fight, “Someone’s gonna get really hurt if we don’t stop them now.”

“Right!” Ivan flipped his sword and knocked another Vivix aside, “Ms. Morgan and I shall vanquish the remaining Vivix. Go forth together and defeat this wretched dog!”

Riley tilted his head in contemplation of this last phrase, but the others all gripped their weapons and nodded. They charged into the horde of Vivix making their way towards Summer Haze.

“Allow me to clear the way!” Ivan raised his sword and brought down a crash of Zandar power on them, scattering the minions and easing the way for the others. Kendall busily fired her way through the Vivix surrounding the prisoners and began to diminish their numbers.

Riley was the first to reach Summer Haze. He parried and thrusted his blade against the creature’s hard ice cream cone claw, “You’re going to melt before we let you win!”

“Not a… wah!” before the monster could respond Tyler and Chase’s shot blasted it in the shoulders. Shelby and Koda charged between Riley and Summer Haze and dealt several blows. The villain went tumbling back down to the sand.

“Alright! Time to finish this,” Tyler said as he pulled a charger out.

“Weapons… Combine! Dino Spike…. FINAL STRIKE!”

Summer Haze went up in a ball of fire as the Rangers stood up in triumph. Kendall and Ivan ran up to them.

“The Vivix are retreating!” Kendall reported.

“Aye, and the villainous vixen Poisandra has disappeared as well.”

The Rangers all transformed back into their civilian clothes just as the captivated people began to move again. Chase raced over to Kaylee as the others went to check on Sara and Philip.

“Are you okay?” he asked her.

“I…. yeah… I’m okay,” Kaylee said slowly as she shook her head, “What happened?”

“Monster attack. The Power Rangers showed up, though,” Chase told her with a little apprehension. He didn’t want to mention the Black Ranger because it was too strange competing with himself for his girlfriend’s affection.

“Oh, good,” she said still slightly dazed. She looked over his shoulder and frowned, “Is that Prince Philip of Zandar?”

“No, couldn’t be,” Chase said without even turning around. He did see the form of a slight Indian girl moving away from the crowd, “I’ll be right back. Hey, Sara, hey… wait up!”

“When did she get here… and is that all of Chase’s friends from the Café?” Kaylee said to no one. 

Sara paused in her movement and watched the Kiwi as he approached. Her face held an unreadable expression.

“Feeling okay?” he asked her.

“A little woozy. I think I just want to go home now.”

“Well, good that you’re not too bad.”

“Yes.”

“…”

“…”

“Thanks” Chase blurted out, “For taking that hit from Summer Haze. I know I’ve been a real jerk. I don’t understand you, but that shouldn’t matter. You’re my teammate, and we should work together.”

“Ok. You’re welcome,” she said with little emotion in her voice.

Chase had to hold back a scoffing noise, “well… are we cool?”

“….sure…” Sara said in a voice that reflected more annoyance than acceptance, “I’m sorry, Chase. I know this is all very new and confusing to you, but I’ve had to deal with people like you my whole life. I am finally at a point in my life where I am happy and comfortable with who I am. You make me tired. I’m glad we’re not at each other’s throats, but we’ll just have to let this take its time before we can be friends.”

“That’s… not the response I was expecting.”

Sara sighed heavily, and her eyes passed over the crowd of people. Most of the people were making their way off the beach, but she saw Riley standing with the other rangers. His face was turned in their direction, and he was clearly watching Chase.

“We can’t always have a happy ending. Life is much too messy for that,” she said softly to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I hope the ending wasn't too dissatisfying. While I tried to model a lot of this after the actual show, I decided I wanted a nonending ending and left a lot left unfinished. The AU this has established will have stories that help to flesh out more of what's been presented.
> 
> It was nice to write about Sara, and I hope I did an okay job of portraying a transcharacter. She'll be continuing in my Authentic Rangers series but won't be the main focus for at least a few stories.


End file.
